Work handling mechanism for machine tools



May 5, 1936. E. R. sM|TH E1- AL 2,040,028

WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR MACHINE TOOLS Filed April 8, 1 932 5 Sheets-Sheet l www May 57 1936. E. R. SMITH ET Al.

0 WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR MACHINE TOOLS Filed April 8, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nn, I

May 5, 1936. E. R, SMITH ET AL.

WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR MACHINE TOOLS 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 Filed April 8, 1932 y w n `Patented May 5, 1936 UNITED ES 041x028- PATENT oFFlCE WORK" HANDLING MECHANISM FOR' MACHINE TOOLS Edwin R.- Smith and' Albert- Schinkez, Senecav Falls, N. Y., assignors to Seneca FallsMachine Company-Seneca Falls, N. Y., a corporationy'of VMassachusetts Application. April 8,V 1932,; Seriali N0.' 60.45045 an operator, except for occasionalinspection, and

the utility of such machineslismuch increased x-1 whenr an automatici work-handling mechanism is provided. Furthermore, it is frequentlT desirable toV` shift theiwork'endwise after itis' aligned in working position, as for insertionj into a chuck. Also in many casesl it isdesirable'to turn the Work end'fo'r end during-'transfer-to an adjacent machine or between successive operationsfin the same niachine zItis the general object 'of ourinventil'inl t'o'provide Work-handlingsmechanism'effective to per# form anyfof the .aboveA described.` operations and to perform them in any desired combinations.

' Whilev we' have' shown a machine capable-of performing 'all' ofi-the described operations; f it should' be understood? that important features of our invention also reside in` themec'hanism' and devicesby which certain separate operations arer accomplished.

Ourinvention further `i'e'latesil'to arrangements and combinations 'of parts 'whiclrf will be'` -hereinafter described andf'more particularly pointed out' in? the appended y claims. Y A'. preferred form'of the inventionfisshownf in the drawingsinwhich Fig. 1 is a-sidevelevationofa. machine having .ff our improvedwork-handling-mechanism1 associated therewith;

A Fig'. 2 is an enlarged side elevation'of.- the workhandlingl mechanism, with certain parts shown in' section .and looking in the directionY ofthe arro'w'2 in Fig. 1;

Fig.- 3is a sectional elevation .of certain fluidoperated actuating mechanism,.taken along .the line 3 3y in Fig. 5;

Fig'. 4' is a detail sectional view, takenalong 45' the line 4 4 in Fig. 5;

" Fig." 5A is a plan view of our improvedl workliandling mechanism,` and Fig; 6 is asectional elevation, taken along the line 6?-6 in Fig'. 5.

fReferring-to the drawings, our improved-workhandling mechanismmay be mounteddirectly uponthe'fr'ame of a-machine toolM or M' but isshown in thev drawings as mounted on an independent support comprising uprights I0 (Fig. 1)

supporting a rectangular frame-work comprising side members Il and end members-I2 (Fig. 5), eachpreferably formed from channel iron.

A main carriage C (Fig. 5) is mounted within the-rectangular frame-work and comprises side 60: bars- I4 andendfmembers l5 firmly secured together. Thel end members I5'f'are provided with flanged rolls l1 projecting into' thechannelsof the fixed end frame. members I2 and guidedl thereby.

Forv the' purpose ofmoving the carriage` CY the fixed supporting' frame; weV provide the carriage-"with'rack bars. '20 .'(Fig'. 5) l at each end thereof' and extending laterally therefrom. These rack bars' are slid'ablefinr guidev'vaysV in bea-ring blocks 22 and 23 (Figs. 4 and 5) -and-areengaged by gears24'mounted o'n a" cross shaft 25'1'otatab1e in' bearings the blocks -f22and 23.

The' shaft 25is also provided with a pinion- 21 (Fig. 3') meshing with the teethY of a'rack bar-28 slidable in a' g'uide'wayV irrt-heT bearing block- 23 andlhaving a piston3-secured to one end thereof, ani'extensionof' the rack-bar28acting as a piston rod for the piston-30.

'I'he 'piston 3 U isslidable inacylinden 3 2 'mounted on the fixed frame Work and having pipes 33.- and 34' YconnectedV `to the opposite.- endsV thereof, these 'pipes' being reversiblyfconnected to a-. supply of fluid' under pressure -and'tothe exhaust.

By admitting air, water or'iother fluid tosonev end'orthe'other of'thecylinder 32, thezcarriage C maybe movedalong thexed end frame. members'l2 whenever it is desired to shift the workW axially of the machine toolwith whichthe. work-handling n'nafch'anism-` -is associated; The carriage` Gis provided.,With'spacedf.pairsv of `depending brackets 40-(1ig..2),.ea.ch of-Which. supports a flanged guide-roll :4 I

A second carriageC is vmounted below themain carriage C and is provided with: side'rails` 42,. preferably ein the.. shape of.. :channel irons .and supported-.by the guide-rolls 4|. The rails. 42- maybe .of any desired length. and commonlyextend beyond the fixed supporting frame, as.c1ear ly-shown .in Fig..5.

A. bearing block 44 -(Fig. 6) issecured to. the side rails 42 and rotatably supports a cylinder casing` 45. The mechanism for- .moving the carriage C', block 44.- andf .casing 45. end-wise on the carriage Cincludes. acylinder y5l] (Fig. 2) mountedonone of theside bars I4 of thecarriage C and having pipes 5| and'52 reversibly connectingthe opposite ends of the cylinder to a source of supply of fiuid under pressure and to the exhaust.

A piston 53 is slidable in the cylinder 50 and is provided with a piston. rod 54 having a toothed or'rack portion 55. The rack 55. engages a gear 5B on a cross' shaft 51 rotatable in bearings in an associated pairv of the depending brackets 4l)V previously described. An arm 58 is fixed-to the shaft 51'. n

Links and 6I (Fig. 2) are-pivoted on studs 62 and' 63,. adjustably secured i`nspaced slots 64-in the? arm'.l 5B. Thevouter end'rof the link 60 is connected Vto4 a.-.bracketl66 mountedon one of? the side rails 42. Consequently Vthe swinging of the arm 58 about the axis of the shaft 5'| from the full line position to the dotted line position in Fig. 2 will have the effect of shifting the side rails 42 and carriage C' a predetermined distance lengthwise of the carriage C.

This distance represents the distance between the center lines of two associated machine tools, such as M and M' in Fig. 2, and is equal to twice the distance from the center of thefixed shaft 51 to the center of the stud 62 in the arm 58. By varying the length of the arm 58, the extent of shifting movement may be widely varied and slight changes in the extent of movement may be made by adjusting the stud 62 in its slot 64.

It is sometimes desirable to reverse the work W v end for end as it is shifted from one machine M to an adjacent machine M. For this purpose we provide the cylinder casing 45'with a segmental gear 10 (Figs. 5 and 6) engaged by a rack bar 1| slidable endwise relative to the side rails 42 of the lower or second carriage C. The rack bar 1| is provided at its outer end with a bracket 13 having astud 14 t0 which the outer end of the link 6| is pivoted.

The rack bar 1| is slidable in suitable bearings or guideways and will be moved endwise as the arm 58 moves from the full line position to the dotted line position in Fig. 2, the extent of this movement being `determined by the radial distance of the stud 63 from the shaft 51. 'I'his distance is usually so selected that the cylinder casing 45 will make one-half of a revolution as the carriage is shifted from the machine M tothe machine M'. Y Y

In special cases, however, the mechanism may be set to rotate the cylinder 45 either more or less than a half revolution by varying the effective length of the arm 58. When no rotation of the cylinder casing 45 is desired, the link 6| may be removed and the cylinder may be vclamped in fixed position in any convenient manner, as by a set screw'15 (Fig. 6).

We have thus provided Vfluid-actuated-mechanism for shifting the carriage C and cylinder casing 45 from one machine to another and also for partially rotating the cylinder casing 45 during such shifting movement, provided such rotation is desired.

The cylinder casing 45 is provided with an inner cylindrical chamber 88 (Fig. 6) in which a piston 8| is slidable. Pipes 82 and 82a connect the opposite ends of the cylindrical chamber through a suitable reversing control valve (not shown) to a source of supply of fluid under pressure.

A piston rod 83 extends upward from the piston 8| through the segment gear 10 and is suitably connected at its upper end to collars 84 on the upper ends of a pair of plungers 86. The plungers 86 are slidable in upper and lower bearings in the cylinder casing 45, and at their lower ends support a pair of spaced cross rods 88 on which .suitable work-gripping or engaging devices D are mounted.

As pressure is admitted through the lower pipe 82, the :piston 8| will be raised, carrying with it the piston rod 83 and the plungers 8E and thus lifting the work-engaging devices D. When pressure is admitted through the upper pipe 82a, the

piston 8|, plungers 86 and work-'engaging devices D will be moved downward to alignment with the work spindle. The Work-engaging devices D are each adjustable Ylengthwise 0f the drawings for grasping the work W and holding Y it during movement from one machine to the other.

Any suitable mechanism may be provided for actuating the workfengaging members and such mechanism in itself. forms no part of our present invention. For a disclosure of actuating mechanism suitable for this purpose, reference is made to our priorPatent No. 1,841,988 issued January 19, 1932.v

Guide-pins 95 are preferably secured in the frame members and cooperate with guideplates 96 fixed to the head and tail stocks of the machines M and M' and provided with slots or openings 91 to receive the pins 95 and thus ac-V curately center the Ywork with respect to the work centers of the machines.

Having Vdescribed the details of construction of our improved Work-handling mechanism, the general operation and advantages will be readily apparent. The work may be raised or lowered by connecting the lower end of the cylinder space 80 in the cylinder casing45 to a supply of fluid pressure. After the work is raised, it may be shifted transversely from one machine M to an adjacent machine M by the admission of pressure to the cylinder 50. During such movement,

the cylinder 35 may be turned through a selected angle if desired. Y

Afterv the work is newly aligned with the work centers, it may be shifted endwise by the appli cation of pressure in the fixed cylinder'32, such endwisemovement being convenient for inserting a piece of work W in a chuck K as indicated in Fig. 1. y

All desired movementsof the work are thus easily and quickly accomplished. Suitable control mechanism may be provided by vwhich these movements take place automatically and in timed relation to the operations of the machine toolv with which the work-handling mechanism is associated. For an example of such automatic control mechanism, reference is' again made to our prior Patent No. 1,841,988.

A particular advantage of our work-handling` mechanism is the provision of means for turning the work during its transfer from one machine to another. Obviously by disconnecting the links 60, the Work may be raised, partially rotated, and then lowered and re-inserted in the same ma-` chine, all without transverse movement of the carriage C.

While we have shown hydraulic actuating mechanism, many of the advantages of our improvements are retained when electric torquev motors are substituted and such use is considered to be Within the scope of our invention.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we do not Wish to Vbe limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what we claim is:-

1. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising work-engaging devices, means'to raise and lower said devices, means to shift the Work transversely of the machine tool, means to turn the work angularly during such transverse movement andina plane parallelto the plane of nl u such transverse movement, and a single actuating device for said shifting and turning means.

2. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising work-engaging devices, means to raise and lower said devices to move the work from a working plane to a transfer plane, a carriage on which said raising and lowering means is mounted, means to shift said carriage transversely of said machine tool, thereby moving the work in the transfer plane, and means to turn said raising and lowering means angularly on said carriage as said carriage is shifted transversely, thereby reversing the work in the transfer plane.

3. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising work-engaging devices, means to raise and lower said devices, a carriage on which said raising and lowering means is mounted, means to shift said carriage transversely of said machine tool, means to turn said raising and lowering means angularly on said carriage as said carriage is shifted transversely, and a single fluid-operated actuating mechanism for simultaneously operating said transversely shifting and said angularly turning means.

4. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, means to move said carriage, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first carriage, workengaging devices supported by said second carriage, said work-engaging devices being rotatable as a unit about a vertical axis on said second carriage, means to move said second carriage, and means to turn said work-engaging devices about said vertical axis.

5. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, means to move said carriage, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said rst carriage, work-engaging devices supported by said second carriage, said work-engaging devices being rotatable as a unit about a vertical axis on said second carriage, and a single lactuating mechanism effective to move said second carriage and also to turn said work-engaging devices about said vertical axis.

6. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, means to move said carriage, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first carriage, work-engaging devices supported by said second carriage, said work-engaging devices being rotatable as a unit about a vertical axis on said second carriage, a crank arm mounted on said first carriage, means to move said crank arm about an axis on said carriage, and separate connections from said crank arm to said second carriage and to said turning means.

'7. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, means to move said carriage, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first carriage, work-engaging devices supported by said second carriage, said work-engaging devices being rotatable as a unit about a vertical axis on said second carriage, a crank arm mounted on said first carriage, separate connections from said crank arm to said second carriage and also to said turning means, and means to adjust the effective movements of said connections.

8. Work-handling mechanism fo-r machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, fluid-pressure operated means to move said carriage, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first 'carriage, fluid-pressure operated means mounted on said first carriage and effective to move said second carriage, work-engaging devices on said second carriage, and fluid-pressure operated means to raise and lower said work-engaging devices.

9. Work handling mechanism for machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, fluid-pressure operated means to move said carriage, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said rst carriage, huid-pressure operated means mounted on said first carriage and effective to moveV said second carriage, work-engaging devices on said second carriage, and fiuid-pressure operated means to raise and lower said work-engaging devices said latter means being mounted on said second carriage.

10. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising work-engaging devices, a support therefor, means to raise and lower said support and to shift said support transversely relatively to the Work axis, and cooperating guiding means on said support and on the machine tool, effective to definitely locate said support transversely as the work-engaging devices move downward to place the work in working position.

l1. The combination in work-handling mechanism as set forth in claim l0, in which the cooperating guiding means comprises guide studs on the support for the work-engaging devices and guiding members mounted on the machine tool and having guide slots open upwardly to receive said studs, said slots having upwardly enlarged entrance portions to correct the transverse position of a slightly misaligned support.

l2. Work-handling mechanism for machine tools comprising a fixed frame, a carriage movably mounted thereon, fluid-pressure operated means to move said carriage to shift the work longitudinally of the machine tool, a second carriage mounted on said first carriage and movable in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first carriage, fluid-pressure operated means mounted on said first carriage and effective to move said second carriage to shift the work transversely of the machine tool, Work-engaging devices on said second carriage, and fluid-pressure operated means to raise and lower said work-engaging devices.

13. The combination in work-handling mechanism as set forth in claim l2, in which means is provided for turning the Work through a predetermined angle during the transverse shifting of said second carriage.

14. The combination in work-handling mechanism as set forth in claim 12, in which means is provided for turning the work through a predetermined angle during the transverse shifting of said second carriage and in which adjustable connections are provided for varying the predetermined angle.

EDWIN R. SMITH. ALBERT SCHINKEZ. 

